-======================================
- 1: Just what is interactive fiction?
-======================================
+===================================
+ Just what is interactive fiction?
+===================================
.. highlight:: transcript
.. epigraph::
- | *A was an archer, who shot at a frog;*
- | *B was a butcher, who had a great dog.*
+ | |CENTER| *A was an archer, who shot at a frog;*
+ | |CENTER| *B was a butcher, who had a great dog.*
-Before we start learning to use the Inform system, it's probably sensible
-to consider briefly how IF, which has many narrative elements, differs from
-regular storytelling. Before we do *that*, though, let's look at an example
-of a familiar folk tale.
+.. only:: html
- "There was once a man called Wilhelm Tell, from high in the he lived by
- his skills Swiss Alps near the town Altdorf. A hunter and a guide,
- proud mountaineer, in tracking and archery. It happened one day that
- Wilhelm visited the town to buy provisions, and he took his son Walter
- with him.
+ .. image:: /images/picB.png
+ :align: left
+
+|B|\efore we start learning to use the Inform system, it's probably
+sensible to consider briefly how IF, which has many narrative elements,
+differs from regular storytelling. Before we do *that*, though, let's look
+at an example of a familiar folk tale.
+
+ "There was once a man called Wilhelm Tell, from high in the Swiss Alps
+ near the town of Altdorf. A hunter and a guide, a proud mountaineer,
+ he lived by his skills in tracking and archery. It happened one day
+ that Wilhelm visited the town to buy provisions, and he took his son
+ Walter with him.
The region was at the time governed by Hermann Gessler (a vain and
petty man appointed as vogt by the Austrian emperor), who attempted a
And now an extract from the same tale, this time in the form of a tiny text
adventure game. If you're new to interaction with text adventures you'll
-find some general instructions in "How to play an IF game" on page 209, and
-you can see a complete transcript of the game in the "William Tell" story
-on page 219::
+find some general instructions in :doc:`/appendices/a`, and you can see a
+complete transcript of the game in :doc:`/appendices/c`. ::
A street in Altdorf
The narrow street runs north towards the town square. Local folk are
Our example of narrative prose is written in the third person; it
refers to the hero as "Wilhelm" and "he" and "him", watching and
- reporting on his activities from afar. In this sample IF game, you are
- the hero, seeing everything through Wilhelm's eyes.
+ reporting on his activities from afar. In this sample IF game,
+ *you* are the hero, seeing everything through Wilhelm's eyes.
* What happens next?
You can tell when you've come to the end of a regular narrative -- you
read the last sentence, and you know there's no more. In IF, it's
- clear enough when you reach an end; what's much less apparent is
+ clear enough when you reach *an* end; what's much less apparent is
whether that's the only conclusion. In the transcript from the example
game, you win by shooting the apple from Walter's head. But what if
you miss? What if you hit him by mistake? Or fire instead at the
* How do I work this thing?
Whereas the presence of Helga is an elaboration of the folk tale, the
- shooting of the arrow (it's in the transcript in "William Tell" story
- on page 219, not in the extract above) illustrates the opposite
- principle: simplification. The tale builds dramatic tension by
- describing each step as Wilhelm prepares to shoot the apple. That's
- OK; he's been an archer all his life, and knows how to do it. You, on
- the other hand, probably know little about archery, and shouldn't be
- expected to guess at the process and vocabulary. Let's hope you know
- that you need to shoot at the apple -- and that's all it takes. The
- game explains what was involved, but doesn't force you through each
- mundane step.
+ shooting of the arrow (it's in the transcript in :doc:`/appendices/c`,
+ not in the extract above) illustrates the opposite principle:
+ simplification. The tale builds dramatic tension by describing each
+ step as Wilhelm prepares to shoot the apple. That's OK; he's been an
+ archer all his life, and knows how to do it. You, on the other hand,
+ probably know little about archery, and shouldn't be expected to guess
+ at the process and vocabulary. Let's hope you know that you need to
+ shoot at the apple -- and that's all it takes. The game explains what
+ was involved, but doesn't force you through each mundane step.
Of course, all of these are generalisations, not universal truths; you
could find fine works of IF which contradict each observation. However,
projects / ibg.git / blobdiff